Quick Facts
- California State University, Chico
(popularly called "Chico State") - Founded: 1887
- President: Steve Perez
- Student/Faculty ratio: 28 to 1
- Average Undergraduate Class Size: 31
- Campus Acreage: Main campus 132 acres; University Farm 800 acres; Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve 7,835 acres
- Total General Fund Budget: $247 million
- Location: 90 miles north of Sacramento; 174 miles northeast of San Francisco
- Service Counties: Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yuba
- School Mascot: Wildcat
- School Colors: Red and white
- Alumni: 183,323
Students
(Fall 2023)
Full-Time Equivalent students 13,013
(FTE: total number of course hours enrolled in during a particular semester, divided by 15 for undergraduates; divided by 12 for graduate students)
Total Number of Students 13,999
Freshmen: 2,999 (21.4%)
Sophomores: 1,903 (13.6%)
Juniors: 3,437 (24.6%)
Seniors: 4,527 (32.3%)
Postbaccalaureate Students: 1,133 (8.1%)
Age
Chico State Average (undergraduate and graduate): 23
Undergraduate Average: 22
Ethnicity
American Indian/Alaskan Native: 0.5%
Asian: 5.6%
Black/African American: 2.7%
Hispanic/Latino: 37.3%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0.2%
White: 42.4%
Two or More Races/Ethnicities: 5.6%
Unkown/Declined to State: 3.6%
Gender
Female: 56.1%
Male: 43.6%
Nonbinary: 0.3%
View additional student diversity demographics.
Student Profile
Our students come from 40 nations and 31 states.
97% of the total student population comes from California: 27.1% from Chico State's service area; 10.7% from the Sacramento Area; 21.6% from the San Francisco Bay Area; 20.5% from the Los Angeles area; and 17% from the rest of California. The remaining 3% are out-of-state or international students.
All students are members of the Associated Students of Chico State, a multimillion-dollar corporation managed by students. The AS is responsible for the student government, the Chico State Wildcat Store, the Wildcat Recreation Center(opens in new window), Adventure Outings, the student union (Bell Memorial Union), and many other programs for students, including Community Action Volunteers in Education (CAVE), Child Development Lab (campus daycare), Community Legal Information Clinic (CLIC), Gender & Sexuality Equity Coalition (GSEC), and the Sustainability program.
Some student publications include The Orion student newspaper, The Chico Historian academic journal, and Watershed Review literary magazine.
Freshman Profile
Average High School GPA: 3.52 (admits) / 3.41 (enrolled)
Ten Largest Majors
Based on current number of students officially declaring majors.
- Business Administration 1,756
- Psychology 1,029
- Pre-Nursing 754
- Liberal Studies 580
- Computer Science 553
- Sociology 501
- Construction Management 410
- Animal Science 401
- Computer Animation and Game Development 399
- Criminal Justice 380
Bachelor's Degrees Granted
Ten majors with the most bachelor's degrees granted. Based on the actual number of degrees granted during the 2022–23 academic year.
- Business Administration 486
- Psychology 310
- Liberal Studies 187
- Sociology 156
- Criminal Justice 139
- Construction Management 114
- Public Health 99
- Animal Science 97
- Communication Studies 110
- Exercise Physiology 95
Faculty & Staff Stats
(Fall 2023)
Instructional Faculty 860*
Full-time Faculty: 57%
Part-time Faculty: 43%
Staff 1,048*
*Coaches, librarians, and others who have faculty status but primarily engage in noninstructional functions are counted as staff rather than instructional faculty.
Ethnicity - Instructional Faculty
American Indian/Alaska Native: 0.8%
Asian: 8.6%
Black/African American: 2%
Hispanic/Latino: 6.2%
White: 73.6%
Two or More Ethnicities: 2.2%
Not Specified: 6.6%
Ethnicity - Staff
American Indian/Alaska Native: 1.2%
Asian: 5.6%
Black/African American: 2.7%
Hispanic/Latino: 16.6%
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Island: 0.4%
White: 66.4%
Two or More Ethnicities: 3%
Not Specified: 4.1%
Gender - Instructional Faculty
Female: 54%
Male: 46%
Gender - Staff
Female: 55%
Male: 45%
View additional employee diversity demographics.
Academic Programs
Chico State has 7 colleges, 5 schools, and 22 centers and institutes:
College of Behavioral and Social Sciences
College of Communication and Education
- School of Communication
- School of Education
College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Construction Management
College of Humanities and Fine Arts
Fall 2023
- Bachelor of Arts Programs: 34
- Bachelor of Science Programs: 18
- BA and BS Options (within the major): 94
- Master of Arts Programs: 12
- Master of Science Programs: 13
- MA and MS Options (within the program): 24
- Minors: 112
- Certificate Programs: 28
- Professional Education Credential Programs (with options): 65
- Other Programs Offered:
- Bachelor of Fine Arts: 3
- Master of Business Administration: 2
- Master of Fine Arts: 1
- Master of Public Administration: 1
- Master of Social Work: 1
- Master of Teaching: 1
- Blended Undergrad/Grad: 2
- Pre-Professional advising in dental hygiene, dentistry, forensic science, forestry, law, medicine, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, theology, and veterinary medicine
- The Honors Program offers special opportunities for motivated undergraduate students with high grade point averages. These opportunities range from specially designed courses in general education (Honors in General Education Program) and in selected majors (Honors in the Major Program) to many honors societies that students can join.
- Chico State is accredited by the Western Association of Colleges and Schools, as well as a number of professional associations covering all seven colleges.
Centers and Institutes
Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve
California Mechatronics Center
California Pavement Preservation Center
Center for Bilingual/Multicultural Studies
Center for Economic Development
Center for Enterprise Systems and Informatics Research (CESR)
Center for Entrepreneurship
Center for Excellence in Finance
Center for Healthy Communities (CHC)
Center for Mathematics and Science Education (CMSE)
Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems (CRARS)
Center for Water and the Environment (CWE)
Chico State Herbarium
Education for the Future
Gateway Science Museum
Geographical Information Center
Janet Turner Print Museum
Northeast Information Center (NEIC)
Passages Adult Resource Center
Rural Northern California Clinical Simulation Center (Sim Center)
Valene L. Smith Museum of Anthropology